Voting & Election Information

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Quick Guide

In this section you will find answers to these commonly asked questions;

What are important dates for election participation?
Where can I vote?
How do I view the ballot online?
How do I vote if I am disabled?
How do I register to vote?
How do I vote by mail? Am I eligible?
What are ways I can cast my vote as a Texas voter?
What type of ID can I bring when voting?
Can I vote if...
I am a student who attends college outside of Harris County?
I am in the military or living overseas?
I am experiencing homelessness?
I have been previously convicted?

Every citizen who wants to vote must be registered in his or her county of residence. You can verify your voter registration at HarrisVotes.com. You should notify the Voter Registrar if you change your name or address.

There are 5 qualifications to register to vote

You are an American citizen and
You are at least 17 years, 10 months of age and will be 18 by Election Day and
You have not been declared mentally incapacitated without the right to vote by a court and
You have not been convicted of a felony. If you have been convicted of a felony, you can vote if you have completed all terms of your sentence or have been pardoned.

Voter registration applications are available at many state agencies, at libraries and community centers, or by calling 713.755.6965. You may also download and print an application at HarrisVotes.com. The application must be delivered in person to a voter registrar or mailed.

For any additional election information you need, visit houstonvotersguide.org.

For more information, go to HarrisVotes.com

You may apply for a ballot by mail, if you are registered to vote and meet one of the following five criteria:

Age 65 or older by Election Day
Will be outside Harris County for ALL of the Early Voting period and on Election Day
Are confined in jail or Involuntary Civil Commitment but otherwise eligible to vote
Have a disability, sickness, or physical condition that prevents appearing in person without the likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring your health
Are expecting to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day

To apply to vote by mail, please visit: https://www.harrisvotes.com/Voter/Vote-by-Mail

Curbside Voting

If a voter is physically unable to enter the Vote Center, he or she may ask that an election officer to bring a ballot to a car parked at the curbside voting location.

A special curbside buzzer will be placed near the entrance of the vote center, so a curbside voter may ring the buzzer from their car.After the voter marks the ballot, they will give it to the election officer, who will put it in the ballot box. Or, at the voter’s request, a companion may hand the voter a ballot and deposit it for him or her. Voting curbside will not shorten the time at the Vote Center, as curbside voters are voted as their place in line arrives to the qualification table.

If you have any questions regarding Curbside Voting, you may contact the Elections office at 713-755-6965.

Voting by Mail

In Texas, voters who are 65 years of age or older or are disabled may submit an annual ballot by mail application to the early voting clerk starting on the first day of a calendar year.

Temporarily disabled voters may submit a ballot by mail application for a specific election at any time in the year of the election for which a ballot is requested, but not later than the close of regular business in the early voting clerk's office or 12 noon, whichever is later, on the 11th day before election day unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national holiday, in which case the last day is the first preceding regular business day. Eligible applicants will receive a ballot in the mail and must return it to the early voting clerk. The voted ballot must be delivered to the Election Administrator's Office via mail, or common or contract courier by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Voting at the Vote Center

The voting equipment affords voters with disabilities the capability to vote independently and privately at the Vote Center during the Early Voting Period or on Election Day. The voting equipment is pre-equipped with two large buttons as an accessibility aid to voters whose tactile skills do not lend easily to operating embedded buttons. The jack into which these tactile inputs are plugged is a standard 3.5mm jack, allowing voters who prefer to provide their own input device (such as a sip/puff device) to do so. Also available to the voter are a pair of standard headphones, or the option to plug in their own headphones, through which all operations will be narrated. This allows a voter with vision impairments to navigate the voting equipment without assistance from a third party.

Special Circumstances

You may submit an application for a late ballot because of sickness or disability after the last day of early voting and before 5:00pm on election day. In order to qualify the sickness or disability must originate on or after the 12th day before election day. (Secs. 102.001; 102.003).

You may submit an application to vote due to a death in the immediate family that occurred on or after the 5th day before election day and will be absent from the county on election day. (Secs. 103.001; 103.003b).

Voters are required to submit an application for these specific instances. Please contact the Elections Division at 713-755-6965 for questions.

Notice of Voting Order Priority

Pursuant to Section 63.0013, Election Code: An election officer may give voting order priority to individuals with a mobility problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to move around.Voters who wish to be given voting order priority, and be accepted for voting before others in line to vote at that Vote Center may indicate this to any election officer serving at the Vote Center.

The League of Women Voters fights for the freedom of ALL to vote. In this section are the ways to exercise your right to vote: voting by mail, voting early in person, voting on election day, voting in person using curbside voting, voting even if you are a suspended voter, or voting using a limited ballot if you have moved but not re-registered. Whichever way you choose to vote, be sure to first check your voter registration status at HarrisVotes.com. You must be registered before you can vote!

Vote by mail

You can apply to vote by mail by filling out an application at HarrisVotes.com. Only specific reasons entitle a registered voter to vote early by mail.

If you applied to vote by mail…

Ballots are mailed out 30 to 45 days before an election or 7 days after your application is received.

Be sure to:

Mark your ballot using a black or blue pen;
Place your ballot in the ballot envelope and seal it;
Place the ballot envelope in the carrier envelope;
Complete all information on the carrier envelope, seal it, and sign the flap of the carrier envelope;
Pay attention to the voter ID requirements.
Mail in your ballot as soon as possible. It must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

You can track your ballot online at HarrisVotes.com.

If you want to hand deliver your vote by mail ballot check HarrisVotes.com for instructions.

Note: IDs that have expired in the last four years are acceptable.

Persons 70 years or older may use an expired ID, regardless of expiration date
ID address does not have to match the voter registration address
The name on the photo ID should match the voter registration card or be “substantially similar.” If the names don’t match exactly but are substantially similar, the voter will initial a box for a similar name when signing in to vote
Registered voters without photo ID, who cannot reasonably obtain one, may sign a form and present the original or a copy of one of the following seven documents with the voters name and address to vote a regular ballot:
Texas voter registration card
Current utility bill
Government check
Certified birth certificate
Bank statement
Paycheck
Any other government document such as an out of state driver’s license or expired Texas driver’s license

The form to be filled out by registered voters without a photo ID is called a “Voter’s Declaration of Reasonable Impediment or Difficulty.” The voter must mark on the form one of the following reasons for not providing a photo ID:

Lack of transportation
Disability or illness
Work schedule
Family responsibilities
Lost or stolen identification
Acceptable form of photo ID applied for by not received
Lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain an acceptable form of photo ID

An important note about Voter Harassment

Election officials cannot question a voter about the use of an ID type
Poll watchers may never question a voter about Voter ID issues.
Call the Election Protection Hotline, 1.866.OUR VOTE (or 1-866-687.8683), if you encounter issues.

Students who are registered to vote at their family’s address have two options:
Return home to vote on Election Day or during the Early Voting period (there are weekend hours for Early Voting)
Vote by mail, if your school address is outside Harris County, by requesting and returning a Ballot by Mail.
Students may also register to vote where they attend school, then you will follow the local election guidelines and calendar to vote. (For students attending school outside of Texas: You will be subject to the laws and regulations of the state where you are in school. Check that state’s Office of the Secretary of State or the local voter registrar for more information. If you register to vote where you attend school, check the county voter registrar’s website to confirm that your registration application has been processed and you are in the database of registered voters. expect to be there when elections are held or, if there is a polling location at the jail, they may vote in person.

Members of the military and Americans living overseas can vote;

Harris County registered voters who are temporarily out of the country and wish to vote may complete the Federal Post Card Application online.
This type of application is limited to:
A member of the U.S. Armed Forces, their spouse or a dependent;
A member of the U.S. Merchant Marines, their spouse or a dependent;
A U.S. citizen domiciled in Harris County, Texas, but temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.

Please go to: HarrisVotes.com or call 713.755.6965 for more detailed information.

Homeless does not mean voteless

Persons experiencing homelessness can register and vote in Texas, as long as they meet the five qualifications that apply to everyone.
People who regularly stay at a shelter can give that shelter’s address on their voter registration form.
Your mailing address does not have to be the same as the residence address. The registrant can use any address where they are able to pick up mail. A post office box, shelter, helping agency, church or a friend or relative’s address are all suitable.
One of the forms of photo ID (or one of the acceptable alternative forms of identification) must be presented in order to vote.

In the state of Texas, your right to vote is restored immediately upon completion of your sentence, including parole and probation, in addition to any fines/costs, or restitution. You must be “off paper,” and meet the five qualifications that apply to all voters.
To restore your right to vote, you have to register to vote by the election deadline. If you were registered to vote before the felony conviction, you will have to register again.
registered voters who are confined in county jail may vote as long as they are not on parole or probation and do not have any fines related to another offense. They may request a Ballot by Mail be sent to the jail if they expect to be there when elections are held or, if there is a polling location at the jail, they may vote in person.

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